Companion
by dnachemlia
Summary: Tim knows his dog is a wonderful companion. If only he can convince three judges of that... Written for the Dogs Have Owners, Cats Have Staff Challenge. Set in the same 'verse as More Than a Heap of Stones.


**Companion**

Written for the NFA Dogs Have Owners/Cats Have Staff Challenge

_Genre:_ Friendship/Family

_Rating_: T/FR 13

_Summary:_ Tim knows his dog is a wonderful companion. If only he can convince three judges of that...

_Disclaimer_: All recognizable characters are the property of their respective copyright holders. No infringement intended. The original characters and places mentioned are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to those living, dead, or undead is completely coincidental.

A/N: This story is set in the same 'verse as _More Than a Heap of Stones_. If you haven't read it, here's the pertinent information for this story: Tim inherited a 200 year-old (and haunted) house in Virginia. He has a blue merle Australian shepherd named Maddie that he co-owns with Mikela Grayson, who runs the local nursery when she's not training and showing her own dogs. It's also AU since mid-way through season 10.

XXX

"Are you ready for this?"

Tim looked down at his dog, Maddie, who was watching him with a curious expression. She barked once, wiggled her butt and dashed into the laundry room to wait by the back door.

"I guess that's a yes." Tim grabbed the cooler which held his lunch and treats for Maddie and followed her to the door. He pulled his keys from his pocket as he grabbed Maddie's leash and opened the back door. He had kept the keys with him the previous night instead of hanging them by the back door, just in case his unseen housemates were in a pranking mood, and he really wasn't in the frame of mind to go searching for them. After exiting the house, he made sure the door was locked and then headed for the garage. He had packed his car the night before with all of the things he knew and thought he needed for the day's task but he double checked just to make sure everything was still in place.

Observing his strange behavior, Maddie tilted her head and watched as he checked the contents of the trunk before finally giving him a 'come on, hurry up' yip.

Tim chuckled. "OK, OK. Just making sure. Come on." He opened the back door of his car and Maddie hopped up into the dog crate Tim had managed to fit into the back seat of his Prius. She curled up on the towel he had used to line the crate as Tim latched the crate door. "Glad you're not nervous or anything." She just grinned at him and he shook his head. "I'm glad _one_ of us isn't nervous." He shut the car door, walked around the driver's side and climbed in. He took a deep breath and started the engine before putting the car in gear and guiding it down the driveway. As he turned onto the main road, headed for their planned destination, he thought back to the events that had led to his current situation.

It had started back in January. One night he had been able to go home relatively early and had stopped by Mikela's place to pick up Maddie. Mikela's husband had informed him that they were in the middle of a training session, and had encouraged Tim to go watch.

When Tim had arrived at the building where Mikela held her training sessions, he had carefully opened the door and stepped inside. Maddie and Mikela were at the far end of the building, and he watched in amazement as the two of them worked together like a well-oiled machine. Maddie had always behaved well for him, and he was able to see why, but he had felt a twinge of envy when he saw just how well she worked with Mikela.

Finally his presence had been noticed and Mikela had joined him.

"_What do you think?"_

"_Impressive."_

"_Want to give it a shot?"_

_Tim shook his head. "I don't know anything about it…and I don't even know if I's have time to learn."_

"_Well, lucky for you I'm a pretty good teacher."_

"_Yeah, I can see that. But I know how much time you have put into her training already…"_

"_Once you learn the exercises, and she gets used to working with you, if you have twenty minutes per day to spare…I think you could do it."_

"_I could probably manage the time, but…"_

"_Aw, come on, Tim. Admit it. It looks like fun, doesn't it?"_

_Tim smiled. "Yeah, it does."_

After a few lessons with Mikela, Tim had started training Maddie on his own. He had made an effort to attend at least one of her training classes a week so he could see how the other people in the class worked with their dogs and received a lot of good advice in the process, but he had found that he liked their solo sessions best.

After three months of training on his own, Mikela had brought up the subject of competition.

"_You want me to do_ what?"

"_Enter her in a couple of shows. She's got the exercises down pat."_

"_I'm not sure I do."_

"_You do. You've been doing really well for a beginner. At least think about it, OK."_

"_OK…"_

Finally, after another month, Tim decided that he would give it a shot. He found a cluster of local shows, three in one weekend, and put in to have the time off. He certainly didn't want to waste all the work, or nearly $90 in entry fees by being called into work and missing the shows. Gibbs had given him an odd look when he explained what he was doing – in private, with a request to keep his plans away from the rest of the team – but had signed the form without argument.

After sending in the entries, Tim had put extra time into making sure the two of them were ready. Mikela assured him that they would have no problem earning a qualifying score.

"_All you have to get is 170 out of 200 points, and not fail any of the exercises. I'm pretty sure you can do that."_

"_I hope you're right."_

"_I am. Maddie won't let you down."_

"_I'm more worried about 'handler error'."_

"_Tim, you know this stuff, too. Trust me, you'll be fine."_

Despite Mikela's assurances, Tim felt his anxiety increase as he approached the fairgrounds where the shows were being held. He joined the line of cars waiting to pass through the gate and took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

"Woof," Maddie replied and Tim snorted.

"Yeah, rub it in. You've done this before. You don't have anything to worry about."

Mikela had already taken Maddie to several shows, and she had earned her first obedience title, Beginning Novice, or "BN". Now they were trying for the next level, Companion Dog, or "CD". Tim tried to tell himself that it didn't really matter, he already knew that she was a good companion and didn't need an official title to prove it, but in the back of his mind he thought it would be nice to have something to show for all the work they had done over the past few months.

Finally Tim reached the entrance, where a man in a reflective vest checked his entry conformation papers and directed him to the area where the obedience rings were set up. Tim found a place to park that was semi-shaded and pulled his car into the space. After unloading his cooler and folding camp chair from the trunk, he released Maddie from her crate and clipped her leash to her collar. He gathered up his belongings and headed towards the group of fences that marked the borders of the rings.

"Tim!"

He turned towards the familiar voice and saw Mikela waving at him from the edge of a pair of canopy tents. He waved back and changed direction, soon arriving at the "camp".

"Glad to see you made it. You can set up here with us if you want."

"Thanks." Tim raised a hand in greeting to the other people already sitting under the tent, some he already knew from training class.

"Hi, Tim. Are you and Maddie ready?"

Tim turned to the short, brown-haired woman with a weak smile."

"Hi, Judy. I sure hope so. Are you and Hope ready, too?" Upon hearing her name, the Collie lounging next to the woman's chair sat up and wagged her tail. Tim scratched the dog's ear and she gave him a quick swipe with her tongue in return.

"As we'll ever be."

Tim gave the rest of the group a quick once over as they greeted him, and soon realized that he was a bit overdressed. He was in his usual work attire, while the rest were dressed in jeans and T-shirts, some bearing dog-related slogans.

"You'll do fine, Tim."

Tim turned to the grey-haired and bespectacled man, who was wearing a shirt that proclaimed _Old dog trainers never die, they just drop on recall_ and absently scratching the ears of the Belgian Malinois sitting next to him. "Thanks, Ed."

"Just relax. Maddie will pick up on it if you're nervous and that will make her anxious, too."

"I'll try to keep that in mind."

"Your class doesn't start for another hour. You should go watch some of the other classes. I can watch Maddie for you."

"Thanks, Mikela." He gave Maddie a command to lie down and she quickly complied, which made him feel a bit better. He walked over to the ring where one of the advanced classes was running. Keeping a respectful distance, he stood and watched as dog and handler teams went through a series of exercises much more complicated that he and Maddie were prepared to do.

"Something to work towards, right?"

Tim turned to see a woman, about his own age, watching the team currently in the ring. A black lab was sitting quietly on her left, seemingly watching the activity in the ring as well.

"Pretty sure we'll never be able to do that."

"Eh, you never know. What class are you here for?"

"Novice A. You?"

She grinned and pointed to the ring. "We're up next."

"Oh. Well, good luck."

"Thanks. I'm Kim, by the way, and this is Magic."

"Tim. Maddie, uh, my dog, she's…" He pointed over towards Mikela's camp. Maddie noticed and bounced up, her whole body wiggling in excitement.

Kim chuckled. "Pretty girl."

"Thanks."

"How long have you been working with her?"

"About five months, but her other owner has been training her for almost a year."

"Oh, she's one of Mikela's. She has some nice working dogs. I'll look forward to watching the two of you later."

"Thanks…"

Kim smiled. "Looks like it's our turn. See you later, Tim."

Kim and Magic headed over to the entrance to their ring and Tim watched as the two went through their paces. After they had finished, Kim followed him back to the camp and started a conversation with Mikela while Tim greeted the rest of his training group: Adam, a county police officer and Riot, his Border Collie; Kaylin, a high school student and 4-H member and her Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Blue; Kris, Kaylin's younger brother and his Shetland Sheepdog, Carly; and Deanna, Kaylin and Kris's mother and her German Shepherd, Alex. Kaylin and Kris went off the get their dogs warmed up while their mother sat down to chat with Tim. Soon it was time to go check in at the ring, and Tim went to retrieve his armband number. When he returned to the camp, Mikela helped him fit the rectangle of paper over his left bicep and slid a rubber band up his arm and around the paper to keep it in place.

Tim took Maddie out away from the crowds to get her warmed up and to run through the exercises they would need to do. He was still a little nervous, but talking with Deanna had helped, as she had reminded him that he was there to do the best he could, and no one would expect anything else.

After he was a little more confident that they were both ready, Tim headed back to the camp to watch his classmates as well as the other competitors. It was clear that most of the dogs were happy to be in the ring, but a couple looked like they'd rather be anywhere else, and one decided that it really did want to be somewhere else and ran out of the ring before the last exercise was finished, much to the embarrassment of its owner.

Finally it was Tim's turn. His classmates wished him luck as he walked down to the entrance of the ring and waited to be called in. The judge, a rather severe-looking woman in a tweed suit, instructed him to walk into the ring and stop. He did so and Maddie, on his left, immediately sat right by his side and looked up at him expectantly. The judge walked over and stood of to the side, clipboard in hand as she faced Tim.

"This is the heel on lead exercise. Are you ready?" the judge asked.

Tim took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Forward."

"Maddie, heel." Tim stepped off on his left foot and Maddie followed without hesitation.

"Halt," the judge ordered and Tim took three steps to slow down before stopping, feet together. Maddie immediately sat next to him and looked up at him with a grin.

"Forward."

"Maddie, heel." Tim started off again, focusing on the judge's commands as Maddie walked along beside him.

"Left turn."

Tim made the turn, being careful not to bump into Maddie, but she was ready and made the turn right with him.

"Fast."

Tim started to jog, and he could see Maddie bouncing along beside him, happy with the increased pace.

"Normal."

Tim resumed his previous speed and Maddie slowed along with him.

"About turn."

Tim reached the end of the ring and turned to the right, making a 180 degree turn and heading in the opposite direction. He felt the leash tighten a bit as Maddie lagged a little and winced. He knew he'd get marked down for that.

"Slow."

He decreased his speed by about half, and Maddie slowed as well, but not before surging ahead just a little. Tim winced again. _More points lost…_

"Normal."

Tim resumed his normal speed and Maddie seemed to catch on a little more quickly to the pace change that time.

"Right turn."

Tim made the turn and was happy to notice that the leash did not get tight that time.

"And halt." Tim slowed down and stopped, and Maddie sat as soon as his two feet were together, her butt wiggling.

"Exercise finished."

Time reached down and petted Maddie's head. "Good girl."

The judge directed him to the center of the ring and the two assistants – stewards, Tim remembered they were called- that had been waiting by the entrance walked over and stood about 8 feet apart, facing each other, with Tim slightly back and facing the judge.

"This is the figure-eight exercise. You may take either turn. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Forward."

Tim started walking towards the person on his left, making a half circle around her with Maddie between himself and the human "post" before walking to the other person and making a half-circle around him, forming a figure-eight pattern.

"Halt."

Tim slowed and stopped and Maddie quickly sat, but he could see that she was sitting a little crooked. He bit the inside of his cheek and waited for the judge' command.

"Forward."

"Maddie, heel."

Tim repeated the pattern, walking around the two posts once again.

"Halt."

Tim stopped and Maddie sat, much straighter than she had before.

"Exercise finished."

Tim reached down and gave Maddie another head rub and one of the stewards held out her hand for the leash. Tim unclipped it from Maddie's collar and handed it to the woman before she returned to the entrance.

"This is the stand for examination exercise. Stand your dog and leave when ready."

"Maddie, stand." She quickly stood and Tim made sure she was steady before giving the next command. "Stay." He walked out about six feet in front of her and turned to face her. The judge walked up to Maddie, touched her head, shoulders, and rump before walking around behind her and back to her original place.

"Return to your dog."

Tim walked around Maddie and returned to his place on her right side where he waited for the next command. Maddie wiggled a little, but didn't move her feet.

"Exercise finished."

"Maddie, heel." He took a few steps and stopped, and she immediately sat next to him as she looke dup with one of her goofy doggy grins. The judge instructed him to return to the spot where he had started the first exercise.

"This is the heel free exercise. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Forward."

Tim followed the same set of commands that the judge had used for the first exercise, painfully aware when Maddie lagged behind a bit more at the turns. The judge called the final halt and he breathed a sigh of relief when Maddie sat at his side as she was supposed to do.

"Exercise finished." The judge directed him to the far side of the ring, where he stood facing the other side, with Maddie on his left.

"This is the recall exercise. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Sit your dog."

"Sit," Tim added, a bit redundantly he thought since she was already sitting.

"Leave your dog."

"Wait."

Tim walked to the other side of the ring and turned to face Maddie.

"Call your dog."

"Maddie, come!"

Maddie jumped up, ran straight to Tim, and sat in front of him, her butt wiggling enthusiastically.

"Finish."

"Maddie, heel."

Maddie ran around behind him and then sat at his left side, still wiggling.

"Exercise finished."

Tim let out a sigh of relief. They had made it through the individual exercises. One of the stewards brought him his leash and he clipped it to Maddie's collar before leading her out of the ring and back to the camp.

"Not bad, Tim. Not bad at all."

"Could have been better…"

"Could have been worse, too," Kaylin added.

"Yeah, I guess."

"You did fine. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you for the stays."

"Thanks."

After two more teams had completed their exercises, the stewards called the teams back into the ring for the group exercises. The teams lined up on one side of the ring and put their leashes and armband numbers on the floor behind them.

"This is the long sit, which will be for one minute. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Sit your dogs."

A chorus of "sit" rang out as the handlers gave their dogs the command.

"Leave your dogs."

"Stay."

The handlers all left their dogs and walked to the other side of the ring where they turned to face them. Tim silently counted down the minute in his head as he hoped that Maddie would mess this one up. One of the dogs laid down, but the rest remained in place until the judge gave the next command.

"Return to your dogs."

The handlers walked back across the ring, around their dogs and stood with the dogs seated on their left. Once everyone was in place, the judge gave the command to release.

"Exercise finished."

Tim reached down and rubbed Maddie's ears. "Good girl…"

Once everyone was back in line, the judge gave the next command.

"This is the long down exercise, which will be for three minutes. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Down your dogs."

"Down."

Maddie and the other dogs all laid down on the floor, some a little less enthusiastically than others.

"Leave your dogs."

"Stay."

Tim and the rest of the handlers returned to the other side of the ring and turned to face their dogs. Again, Tim counted down the time in his head, hoping Maddie would stay in place. On the other side of the ring, Maddie rested her head on her paws and watched Tim. After what seemed like an eternity, the judge gave the next command.

"Return to your dogs."

The handlers walked back across the ring, around their dogs and back to heel position.

"Exercise finished."

The judge walked down the line and informed the handlers on whether or not they had qualified, Tim breathed a sigh of relief when she told him they had. _One down, two to go._

Tim waited for the rest of the entrants to finish and finally those dog and handler teams with qualifying scores were called back into the ring. Tim accepted his dark green qualifying ribbon with a smile of thanks, and then listened and the placing teams and scores were announced. He wasn't surprised that he and Maddie were not one of those teams earning another ribbon, but he was happy to have made it through his first show. He did ask to see his score sheet, and the judge was surprisingly willing to explain why she had taken off the points she had. Tim didn't think his score, 181.5, was that bad, but Mikela wasn't too happy.

"That judge has a heavy pencil," she muttered after they had returned to the camp. Tim gave her a questioning look. "It means she took off a lot of points that you really shouldn't have lost. Some judges are like that."

"That's OK. It's still qualifying, right? That's what matters."

Mikela managed a smile. "You're right. Sorry. It does matter more in the advanced classes, but for right now, you did just fine, Tim.

"Thanks. See you tomorrow?"

"We'll be here."

Tim packed up his stuff and headed home to prepare for the next day's competition.

The next day was very similar to the first, although Maddie did not lag as much as she had during the previous day's heel free exercise, and Tim did not make any of the 'handler errors' that the judge had marked him off for the first day, resulting in a much better score. Tim was surprised and pleased to be handed a white fourth place ribbon along with another qualifying score ribbon when the final scores were announced. Maddie seemed quite pleased with herself as well, and her grin was even wider than normal when they left the ring after the scores were handed out.

"That's a definite improvement, a 193. Keep it up, Tim," Mikela told him.

The final day of the weekend dawned clear and cool, and Tim added a light jacket to wear over his button-down. Mikela had advised him to dress up a little for today, and Tim had followed her instructions. He just hoped it wasn't bad luck…

He noticed that the rest of his group were giving each other conspiratorial grins, and Tim worried a little, wondering what they had in store for him. With that on his mind he stepped into the ring and prepared for the worst. Instead he received a pleasant surprise.

He and Maddie seemed to have finally clicked, and together they put on a great performance. Mikela was grinning from ear to ear when they emerged from the ring after the last individual exercise.

"That was the best I've seen her work. Ever. Good job, Tim. We all knew you could do it."

"Still have the stays," Judy declared. "Don't jinx him."

"Right. Of course." She reached down and rubbed Maddie's ears. "Behave yourself, little girl."

Maddie let out a soft woof, as if to say 'would you expect anything less?'

Tim and Maddie returned to the ring for the group exercises and the long sit went perfectly as well. They started the long down, and Tim was across the ring when Maddie started to shift in place.

_Don't you dare get up!_ Tim thought, and sent his dog a glare worthy of Gibbs. Maddie stopped moving and gave him a reproachful look before resting her head on her paws, where she remained for the rest of the longest three minutes of Tim's life. Finally the judge gave the command to return and Tim prayed that Maddie would cooperate. She never moved a muscle until the judge declared 'exercise finished' and Tim released her from her stay. A loud round of applause and cheers followed and Tim looked up to see his group of fellow dog trainers whooping and cheering for him. Tim blushed and quickly left after the judge told him they had qualified.

"You did it, Tim!" Mikela called as he approached the camp and she rushed out to give him a hug. The rest joined in congratulating dog and handler on their accomplishment.

"So, how does it feel?"

"Pretty good," Tim grinned, but before he could continue an announcement from one of the stewards drew his attention.

"Would dog and handler number 38 and dog and handler number 42 please return to the ring?"

"What's that all about?" Tim asked when he realized his number had been called.

"A run off. You two have tied with someone else for a placement and they have to do a tie-breaker exercise. You'll have to do the heel free exercise again."

"OK. Come on, Maddie." She jumped up and followed him to the ring where the other team was waiting. Tim recognized the pair, a woman that was probably a couple of years older than himself and a Border Collie as the first place winners from the previous two days, and felt a twinge of worry.

_There's no way we can beat these two…_

The other team went first, and Tim could not see any mistakes that they made. He sighed.

"I think we're a bit out of our league, Maddie." Maddie gave him a reproachful look and huffed softly. Soon the steward called him back into the ring and one again he prepared for the worst as he concentrated on not making any mistakes. The exercise seemed to pass in a blur and soon they were back outside the ring, waiting for the final result.

At last the stewards called the qualifying teams back into the ring. Tim listened as they started to announce the placing teams, starting with fourth. It was given to a young man and his yellow Labrador Retriever. Third place was awarded to an older woman with a black Miniature Poodle.

Then, to Tim's great surprise, second place was awarded to the woman and her Border Collie. Tim could hear the cheers as the judge announced the first place winner as "the winner of the run- off, with a high score of 198+, dog and handler number 42." Stunned, Tim stood rooted in place until Maddie nudged him with her nose and he stepped forward to claim their prize.

"Congratulations. Great job."

"T-thanks." Tim crouched down and hugged Maddie, who gave him a swipe across the face with her tongue. "Good job, little girl. Good job…"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Mikela grinning down at him. "You need to get a picture, Tim."

"Picture?"

"To mark your win."

"Oh, uh, OK." Tim saw a man with two large, fancy cameras setting up a plaque with the class information and 'FIRST PLACE'.

"That your third leg? Your third qualifying score?"

Tim nodded and the man added a plaque which read 'NEW TITLE' to the sign. Mikela guided Tim over to stand next to the judge and the now completed sign. The judge gave her a knowing smile and gently took the ribbons from Tim, which he then held up so they would be visible in the picture. The photographer instructed him to stand with Maddie seated on his left. He then squeaked a small toy, which caused Maddie's ears to prick up and he snapped the picture. The judge handed the ribbons back to Tim and shook his hand.

"Good luck. I look forward to seeing more of you two in the future."

"Uh…Thanks."

Tim followed Mikela back to the camp and flopped down in his chair as they rest gathered around to congratulate him. Tim managed a smile.

"I still can't believe we did that well…"

"Well, I'm glad you did." She gave Maddie a belly rub. "You did well, my new Companion Dog." Mikela pulled a long, dark blue nylon back from behind one of the crates and set it down in front of him. "We all chipped in to get you this."

"What is it?"

"It's a set of portable jumps. For training for the Open class…and beyond."

Tim groaned. "Guys, thank you, but…I really don't know if I'll have the time…"

"It's time well spent, Tim."

"Yeah, I know, but…"

"And Maddie loves being with you, and working with you." The rest of the group nodded. "I think she'd do well at the next level. I really do. And I think you'd do well, too."

Tim sighed. He had to admit, he had really enjoyed what he had done over the past few months, the time he'd spent with his favorite companion, and the sense of accomplishment he was feeling couldn't be overlooked, either.

"What do you think, Maddie? Are you ready to work on being a Companion Dog Excellent?"

Maddie just grinned.

The End


End file.
